[The Church and Discipleship] – Conversion vs Transformation

By Louie Rudin

One distinction that I believe should be made is the difference between conversion and transformation. For decades I have heard Christians talk about the number of conversions that they had seen within a certain church or organization or especially after some event that they had helped organize. But I believe that a conversion is only the beginning of true discipleship. A conversion takes place as a result of an outside influence such as a compelling discussion or interesting life story that challenges a person’s thinking about any particular subject. Madison Avenue looks for conversions with each television ad that they produce. Their intent is that the clever 30 second drama (that is frequently humorous) that they portray on the viewer’s screen will be compelling enough to change the way that the viewer feels about a certain product, especially in light of the competing brand that they are currently using. Volvo Cars of America attempts to convince Lexus owners that a new Volvo is just as sophisticated as their Lexus (dare I say even more so) and is offered at a much more affordable price. The conversion process starts when the Lexus owner begins to question his reasoning for owning a Lexus and is completed when he arrives at the Volvo dealer and trades in his Lexus for a new S60. However, this is not the end. If his experience with the S60 falls short somehow in the near future, he will re-think his actions and go back to the Lexus dealer. His experience (or relationship if you will) did not transform him. However, had he experienced true euphoria with the S60 there would have been an internal transformation that would prevent any reversal and he would be a truly happy S60 owner. He would then say to his wife, “I love driving this car, honey!!!” This is transformation. It’s life changing. And yes, I agree that the car metaphor is cheesy but I hope you see the difference. True transformation in our faith comes only by the Spirit of God who is inside us and changes us from the inside out. This is truly life changing. This is discipleship.